Crazy 2010 prices

The other day in another thread people were discussing price increases on a few frags, mainly Eau Sauvage. I knew things had gone up in the last year or so anyway, but until 20 minutes ago when I popped into Jollyes (a subsidiary of House of Fraser) for the first time since christmas, I had no idea how silly things seem to have got. The few that I looked at:
Terre D'Hermes - 100ml EDT £68, compared with £55 last year
Acqua di Parma classic range - 100ml cologne £58, compared with £50 last year
ADP Blu Mediterraneo range - 100ml colognes £50, compared with £42 last year
Aramis Gentlemen's Collection - 100ml EDT/cologne £48, compared with £42 last year
Floris (this is the worst one) - 100ml EDT £62, compared with £42-48 (depending on range) last year

So at best an £8 jump, at worst £20. In the space of a week. I know it's a department store and, even worse, House of Fraser, so it's always gonna be pricy, but that's just crazy!

Re: Crazy 2010 prices

i agree, not just in 2010 but in the last 2 years i would say. i feel like when i first got into my fragrance hobby which was around 2001 your more widely available mainstream scents would run you around $40-$45 for a 1.7oz i.e. the armani, hugo boss, calvin klein, more recent diors like higher energy, polo ralph lauren etc. at the higher end of the spectrum were your brands that kept a bit tighter control on distribution like chanel, hermes to create a more exclusive feel to their product, and they were in the $45-$50 range.

i've been shopping around for a few of my staples that i rememeber buying 3 or 4 years ago and they have def increased. its not THAT much when you actually think about it - for a 1.7 oz, mainstreams are up around $50-$55, and chanels/hermes's are up around $55-$60 (with tom ford being at the $60 pricepoint - surprise, surprise - i remember finding a tom ford cotton/polyester polo at neiman's last call that was down to $495 on sale down from $1100, ridic ha).

that being said though, as someone that buys primarily small bottles, it still feel like a big jump, ya know? like $50, sure that's ONLY $5 more than $45, but when you flat out say a 1.7 oz of chanel platinum egoiste is $55, i immediately retreat into cheapo-i-need-an-outlet-mall mode because that's almost $60!. it's something psychological about that $50 threshhold ha . . . i guess i should get over it - prices are never gonna go down ;(

Re: Crazy 2010 prices

Originally Posted by scentsitivity

How is the pound doing relative to the euro?

In certain conditions, that could be an explanation. But probably not currently.

Not great, but then it's been that way for a while. In fact it's probably better now than it was 6-9 months ago when it was almost 1:1. But, having said that, assuming most shops buy in advance (which I'm guessing they do), this is not an unreasonable possibility.